Infested lawn restored to health in a month

2020 will go down in history as a remarkable year. But gardeners may also remember how sunny, hot and, above all, dry the year was, and what disastrous effects that sometimes had on the lawn. Fortunately, smart remedies exist.

As of the end of May, many lawns had already dried out. The intense heat wave in August dealt a severe blow. Those who were able (and allowed) to water could only avoid complete ruin. With the rains returning at the end of September, it was high time to revitalize the lawn and bring fertilization levels back up to par. COMPO EXPERT sought out and found a willing garden owner to demonstrate its approach to.

Demo test

Despite a fertilization and regular, heavy watering, the garden in question looked lousy at the end of September. To give the lawn a chance to emerge from the winter healthy, full and resilient, COMPO EXPERT demonstrated a multi-pronged approach, focusing on the water penetration capacity of the soil, revitalizing the grasses, improving the clay-humus complex, as well as appropriate winter fertilization. All products were sprayed or spread on October 7; by the end of the month, the results were already clearly visible. 

Water penetration capacity

First, the lawn was sprayed with a wetting agent (Kick®, 25 ml/are) and a vitalizing product (Vitanica® RZ, 200 ml/are) at ten liters of water/are. The treatment with Kick® aimed to obtain a smooth and even infiltration of rainwater. Indeed, during very dry periods, some soils have a tendency to become water repellent, or at least proceed to a kind of channeling when rain or sprinkler water runoff occurs. As a result, some parts of the lawn will receive water evenly, but others not at all.

With the treated lawn, it was clear that some areas suffered more from drought than others. Using Kick®, both those differences and the water-repellent nature of the soil were eliminated and the uniformity of the lawn was restored. 

In times of extreme weather conditions, it is best to repeat this treatment monthly.

Revitalization

Simultaneously with Kick®, the liquid NK fertilizer 5-5 Vitanica® RZ was also sprayed. After all, both products are perfectly miscible. 

The greatest value of the vitalizing product lies in the presence of seaweed extracts and the beneficial soil bacterium Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. The seaweeds are rich in the growth-stimulating auxin hormone, while the bacteria develop as a biofilm on the roots and form a symbiosis with the grass roots. 

Clay-humus complex

The soil improvement agent Karisol® Complex (25 kg/are), rich in both organic matter and calcium, was applied immediately after spraying. Indeed, for good soil structure, it is important that calcium makes up a large part of the nutrient elements on the clay-humus complex. Moreover, unlike liming, Karisol® Complex feeds calcium without affecting the acidity of the soil.

Depending on the nature of the clay-humus complex, maintenance fertilization with Karisol® Complex should be performed at least twice a year.

Autumn fertilization

Finally, the lawn received an autumn fertilization with Floranid® Twin Club (4 kg/are). Thanks to the 10-5-20 NPK composition of this product, excessive nitrogen input is avoided, while the large proportion of potassium provides additional strength against treading and the upcoming inclement weather. In addition, since a significant portion of the nitrogen in Floranid® Twin Club is present under a slow-acting form, with release for about four months, the grass does not sink back in terms of nutrition during the winter months.